Shadow Hearts Covenant

Yuri?s quest to find piece of mind in his soul continues in Shadow Hearts: Covenant.

Midway is taking another stab at dark role-playing in its Shadow Hearts sequel, a tale of martial talent and enchanting wizardry that has garnered an unexpectedly large fan base in its motherland. With splendid visuals, new fighting innovations, and a snappy sense of humor that anyone can comprehend, Shadow Hearts: Covenant dazzles you every step of the way.

Newfound Glory

In Covenant, a combat system that utilizes what?s called a ?Judgment Ring? puts the player in control of the outcome of every battle. The Judgement Ring resembles a dial very similar to those found in most sports games involving precise attempts in scoring?a successful attempt depends on the player?s ability to time his actions; so good-bye, random dice rolls. The Judgment Ring can be totally customized to accommodate your needs?for example, you can make your Judgement Ring more flexible by sacrificing any chance of casting critical hits upon your opponents.

The magic system is also worth noting. Throughout the entire game, you?ll find a legion of mysterious Crests that play a huge part in building magic spells. Unlike Yuri, who has the power to transform himself into demons that are able to summon elemental might, the rest of Yuri?s party has to rely on these Crests to give them the strength to stand up against their foes.

Although the story has been built on a linear map, you easily become sidetracked with a truckload of mini-quests. There are puzzles no matter where you go, and they range anywhere from simple to ridiculous in difficulty. The humor keeps your mind tuned in?the jokes are easy to catch (kinda rare for a Japanese import) and a good amount of them may actually leave you LOL (Laughing Out Loud). As far as the game?s presentation goes, the graphics are simply gratifying as each character stands out with their unique details. The music gets dramatic during every battle, and the sounds do a lot to complement the snazzy special effects.

The Path of Righteousness

If you?ve already played the first Shadow Hearts, you won?t want to miss out on where the story takes you a year later. Meanwhile, there are some retail stores out there that are selling bundle packages containing both Shadow Hearts games; so even if you didn?t catch the first, here?s your chance.

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